Sophie Anna Rebecca Scamps (born 15 March 1971) is an Australian

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

politician, general practitioner, and former athlete. In the

2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, sought to win a fourth conse ...

, she was elected as the Member for Mackellar in the Australian House of Representatives.

Biography

Scamps grew up in

Turramurra, New South Wales Turramurra is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. It shares the postc ...

. She attended

Abbotsleigh , motto_translation = Time Flies Faster than a Weaver's Shuttle , established = , type = Independent early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school , denomination = Angl ...

school, noted for her achievements in athletics. She qualified for the 1992 Olympics as a middle distance runner. Scamps studied Medicine at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

graduating in 1995. Later, she received a Master of Public Health from

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

, and a master of Science with honours from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. She was a founder of the Our Blue Dot environmental movement, which campaigns for waste reduction and carbon neutrality. In 2020, using the "kitchen table conversations" model created by former Indi independent Cathy McGowan, Scamps and four like-minded locals created the 'Voices of Mackellar' group. The Voices of Mackellar is a non-partisan community group established to engage residents in the democratic process. Backed by

Climate 200 Climate 200 is an Australian company that provides political funding. It describes itself as a "community crowdfunding initiative" that supports community-backed independents to stand for election to advance climate policy, reduce greenhouse g ...

, as well as a large grass-roots local campaign, Scamps announced her candidacy as an independent in December 2020. Scamps was one of the 23 independents who ran for the

. Her campaign focused on the issues of climate, integrity and gender diversity. Scamps noted that her candidacy was triggered when she received a survey from the incumbent

Jason Falinski Jason George Falinski (born 24 August 1970) is a former Australian Liberal Party politician. He was first elected as the Member for Mackellar in the Australian House of Representatives at the 2016 Australian election and was re-elected at the 2 ...

which omitted climate change as an issue important to Mackellar residents. Scamps lives in

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

on Sydney's Northern Beaches, with her husband Adam Magro and three children and, for a time, a family of Ukrainian refugees. Her own surname is Belgian and pronounced 'Scomps'.

Media

Scamps has been in various Australian media, including ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', ''The Australian'', ''The Guardian'', and ''Women's Agenda''. Her coverage has been focused on the need for action on climate change. She has been labelled as a part of the so-called ' teal wave', a movement of moderate independent candidates whose focus on climate change has challenged traditionally Coalition safe seats.

Running career

Scamps was a middle distance runner in her early life, and qualified for the Olympic games. She competed internationally for Australia, and was a member of the gold medal winning 4 x 400 m women's relay, at the World Junior Championships in 1990. The team set a new under 20 Australian Record, which is still standing. Her personal bests include: * 400 m – 52.67s – Sydney, Australia (1991) * 800 m – 2:02:2 – Canberra *

4 × 400 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

– 3:30:38 – Deveti Septemvri Stadium, Plodiv (1990)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scamps, Sophie Living people 1970 births 21st-century Australian politicians Independent members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Mackellar Politicians from Sydney University of Sydney alumni Australian female middle-distance runners Australian general practitioners Australian people of Belgian descent Australian sportsperson-politicians Australian women medical doctors Members of the Australian House of Representatives Athletes from Sydney Sportswomen from New South Wales Women members of the Australian House of Representatives 21st-century Australian women politicians